Entrecard Widget Down

You might notice that the Entrecard widget has been removed from my Blog sites. It seems that the site is having technical trouble. It has been down for several days. I found that when trying to load my sites this is causing a delay. So, until they are up and running again the widget will remain off.

I read that there has been some problems with the service. I hope this doesn't mean they are down for good. However I will be looking for some other services to use. If you know of a good one leave me the info in my comments. Thanks.

A Summer of Strange Things

The weather has been pretty hot here. Which has been good for the Solar Power. However not so good for the environment. With very little rain and the heat so high, we have had to run the air conditioner constantly.  Not good for the Green gasses. Must say I really do not like the high heat.

My rain barrels are getting low. Therefore I must use the county water for the garden. We do have underground springs in our lawn. They seen to be low also.

Has anyone been having problems with Tree Frogs? We have so many that at night it sounds like we live in the country! Sitting out in the evening and watching the frogs and hearing them call to each other is very strange. There is also a  bunch of cicada wasp. These wasp collect Cicadas and line them up on our front steps. Each day I go out there I see eleven  or twelve line up in a row. The family has seen the wasp bring them in and line them up. These wasps do not attack humans, as long as we do not bother them. Any one seeing these things in their yard?

I think we are enjoying the creatures of the heat. We even have had Deer, fox and rabbits on our street. This has been a very strange summer here.

Going Green Together- Green flooring?

We have been looking for ways to improve our Green home. So far we have added a home solar system. Have installed green flooring and  used no VOC paints on the walls. Most all of our lights are  Green Zones. Still need to paint a dinning room and the ceilings, install new carpets and a kitchen floor.

Although I do not like the lighting we have. One thing  that really bugs me is the amount of illumination of the  green lighting. Feel it is just not enough for my daily tasking. Not to mention the time it takes to brighten up. Not sure I like the new order to have all new green lighting and discontinue the incandescent  bulbs. In some of the lights I like the incandescent lights, especially the three way lights. How do you like the new greener lights? Feedback would be good for me. Perhaps you like a certain brand.

Now on to the flooring. I have come to love the bamboo flooring. If you remember I install the Vintage Sewing Room floor with a striated bamboo floor. Thinking of doing the same in the Kitchen. Although we did  find a floor covering from Pergo that we like and It is all green. That will be the next big project for us.

Being able to Go Green is getting easier now. There are more products available at better or equal to the cost of traditional  ones. Love going to the stores and checking out the Newer items. Did you know that sometimes you can order directly from the manufacture. In most case you can hirer a certified installer to do the work. Although installation in most case is easy to do and the instructions are online. Be sure to check out the warranty before deciding on the  way to install it. Some companies will only warranty if you have it installed by a  qualified person. In that case find out if they will install if you purchase the product. This could be tricky, as most will not. However remember it is the manufacture  who is giving the warranty not the installer. One more thing to remember, Check out the warranty... What does it cover and what are the terms. Found that some warranties are really useless. Sometimes it is not worth the extra cost to have it install be a authorized person. Every manufacturer sites has the warranties posted. Know the Product warranty  and conditions of installations before  you get the information from the local installation company. We found that sometimes the installer company has no idea that the manufacture will only warrant a certain type of installation in certain rooms.

We had a company tell us they would not glue it down only nail it and the warranty stated the nailing the product would cause clips and that would not be covered on the warranty. Also it stated the gluing it was the manufactures recommendation in the kitchen. Due to the moisture and wearing. We decided not to go with that flooring , or the Local company because they did not know the product they were selling. So as you can see doing you homework can save you headaches in the future.

I hope this information will help you in all you decision on Go Green. if you have any questions or suggestion for me please leave them in the comment section. I will try to answer them or research it for you.

Living Green Updates

Our Solar System is giving us great power. The electric bills have been down. We have produced 7411 this year. Our lifetime energy is 17,846 kWh. September through February are the lower production months. We live in the Eastern United States and therefore tend to get snow and storms. During the other months the sun is up most of the time and our production is good.
The Other day I was enjoying the sunny weather  outside and I watched the Meter go backwards. Love seeing that!
So far We are pleased with the solar power. As for the RECs, *Renewal Energy Credits, We had to change company's. We are now selling at a fixed rate. So, with the money we get for the RECs we are still spending on a yearly average of 50.00 per month for all our utilities needs.
Lifetime numbers:
lifetime energy is17,846 kWh (Nov 09 to May 12)
We have reduced your carbon footprint equivalent to:
29,616 pounds of CO₂
planting 329 seedlings grown for 10 years.
not driving 29,328 miles in a standard car. 

If you are interested in the type we have and our decision to go solar, please click on the Solar power link under OUR SOLAR PROJECT on the side bar. You will see more on this subject.

Now unto the Going Green Together. Our recycling process. I have to say we are not doing well at the stores. I have back slid some. However I will get back on board  trying to make a difference. I tend to shop more online then in the stores now. We still try to use less plastics at the grocery store. I think I might start having the store deliver to me. That way I will use less gas and bags.
Have notice that we are still at 1 trash can pick up. Might I say it is a normal size can. Most of the time it has only one bag of garbage in it. Also we have more recycles so, doing well on that field.  How are you doing on this Project?